England vs India, 3rd Test - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

A Lord's pitch which flattened the run-rates and at times the bowlers too. But wasn't it compelling viewing all the way through. India will be heartbroken, having done so much good work only to come out on the losing side for the second time in the series. They now trail 1-2 going into Manchester with Shubman Gill non-committal about Jasprit Bumrah's availability for the fourth Test. England, on the other hand, deserve so much credit for finding ways to get out of bad situations. Their bowlers were brilliant in making use of the up-and-down nature of the surface led by Carse yesterday and Archer this morning. There's going to be a fairly long break before the next Test. But the wait is probably going to be worth it given how these contests are turning out. That's it for now. Until next time it's a goodbye from Sagar Chawla on behalf of Mukesh, Raju Peethala and Akshay Maanay.

(2/2) What today was and what was on the line, yesterday was a bit different as there was more cricket to be played, I pulled myself out there, to be honest I was cooked yesterday as well, but the game was on the line and nothing was stopping me. I am an allrounder, I get four opportunities to influence the game, one of the great things of being an all rounder is if one thing doesn't quite click then you have the other. I had bowled an important spell, I was pretty pumped up, very important position at extra cover, it was one of those things, I saw Rishabh stutter in my peripheral, natural instincts took over and it is a great feeling when you let go of the ball and know that is going towards the stumps. Big part of the game, Rishabh played really well, we all know how dangerous he can be and that wicket this morning was a big one and Jofra was the man to do it. It was always going to be the case, two very good teams going at it, we went toe to toe in this game, not going to lie but cannot wait to get on the bed for four days and then be ready to go to Manchester.

Ben Stokes | Player of the Match and England skipper: (1/2) It was (extraordinary finish). It was actually part of the reason I went with Jof and myself this morning, one of those feelings, what is it 6 years now to the day (2019 WC win).. Jof played a major role in that, just had one of those feelings he would do something special and he cracked the game open with 2 wickets. It wasn't an easy call, there was a bit of discussion in the dressing room. Brydon (Carse) had an amazing spell last night, he was charging in and had great rhythm but it was a gut feeling, Jof's first match back in the Test team and sometimes your gut works. It is awesome to have him back. When he turns it on and the speeds come up on the screen, the feeling in the game changes. What an amazing job to get through the overs, first time out, tough week but he got some crucial wickets. I thought I had taken myself to some pretty dark places before.. but today bowling to win a Test match for your country.. If that doesn't get you going then I don't know what does. Bashir, broken hand, going out there and taking responsibility with the bat, then coming out and picking up the last wicket, absolute warrior to do that for the team.

Shubman Gill | Indian skipper: Extremely proud. Five days of hard-fought cricket and it comes down to the last session, last wicket and tremendously proud of the effort. I was pretty confident (about the chase). With plenty of batting left I was pretty confident, but the way England kept attacking, we wanted to have maybe a couple of 50-run partnerships in our top-order, we weren't able to do that and they played better than us. There is always hope as long as there is a batsman batting, there is always some hope, because the target wasn't massive and one 50-60 run partnership we knew we would be back in. He (Jadeja) is very experienced, and didn't want to give him any message. I think he was batting really well with the tail and I just wanted him and the tail-enders to bat as long as possible. At one point, we thought if we get a lead of 80-100 that might be crucial for us, because we knew the fifth day on this wicket might not be that easy to chase 150-200, so we were thinking if we can get a lead of 80 runs we would be in a good position. I think the last one hour (yesterday), we could have applied ourselves a bit better, especially the last 2 wickets that fell. And even this morning, the way they came out with the plans, we were hoping for one 50-run partnership and if we had gotten one 50-run partnership in the top order, then things would have been easier for us. Sometimes, the series scorecard doesn't really reflect how well you have played. I think we played some really good cricket and I think it is going to be an even exciting series from hereon. You will get to know about it soon (when asked if Bumrah would play in the next Test).

Stats by Roshan Gede & Deepu Narayanan

The winning moment

There have been 1860 balls (310 overs) of spin bowled in this series. Of those, the one that accounted for Siraj’s wicket had the third-highest interception point (impact height - from ground to bat contact).

Furthermore, of the 907 wickets to have fallen to spin in England since 2006, this one had the fifth-highest interception point.

Lowest total successfully defended at Lord's
124 Aus vs Eng 1888
182 Eng vs Ire 2019
183 Eng vs SA 1955
193 Eng vs Ind 2025
239 Eng vs NZ 2013

Narrowest defeats for India (by runs)
12 runs vs Pak Chennai 1999
16 runs vs Aus Brisbane 1977
16 runs vs Pak Bengaluru 1987
22 runs vs Eng Lord's 2025
25 runs vs NZ Wankhede 2024

Indian batters with 50+ scores in both innings of a Lord's Test
Vinoo Mankad 72 & 184 in 1952
Ravindra Jadeja 72 & 61* in 2025

Fourth Player of the Match award for Ben Stokes at Lord's - the most by a player in Tests at this venue.
193 runs & 3 wkts vs NZ in 2015
60 runs & 6 wkts vs WI in 2017
128 runs vs Aus in 2019
77 runs & 5 wkts vs Ind in 2025

- India's run-rate was 1.95 today. Of all days of Test cricket in England since 2006, the only one with a lower scoring rate (min. 25 overs of play) was Day 4 of the third Test between the hosts and Pakistan in Southampton in 2020 (Pakistan scored 100/2 in 56 overs while following on, RR: 1.78).

The second game-changing event, and probably the most decisive one, came when India seemed to be in control with the bat in the first innings. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant had thwarted everything England threw at them with the old ball and had the opposition there for the taking after stitching together a 141-run stand for the fourth wicket. But with Rahul's hundred approaching and in the eagerness to get to that milestone before the lunch break, they went for a single that was too risky, particularly against someone like Ben Stokes. And talking of the England captain, what a game he had. Never mind that match-defining run out, he ran in tirelessly with the ball, over after over, in typical Stokes fashion. Was hard to get the ball out of his hand and his rhythm was superb too.

In a game of such fine margins, the following two events were perhaps what played a big role in deciding the outcome. First the ball change on the second morning when India were breathing fire with the second new ball. There was seam and swing, and Bumrah had produced a three-wicket burst to reduce England from 260/4 to 271/7. But the ball was changed and India were furious after being handed one that was apparently not like for like. It moved around lesser and the England lower-order, led by Brydon Carse prospered, taking them to 387.

It was a final day that started with a bang as England picked up three quick wickets and it seemed like they had blown away the Indian challenge before the spectators could settle in their seats. But as he did in the first innings, Ravindra Jadeja stood his ground defiantly. He was helped by the ball getting older and posing less of a challenge, and also by the lower-order who were up for the fight. From 112/8, the last two wickets added 58 and England were made to sweat. However, it was too much to do for the likes of Bumrah and Siraj with England's persistence finally getting them over the line.

As soon as Siraj turns back to see the sight of shambles (read: leg stump dislodged), he stays rooted to the crease and goes down in installments. He crouches and stares at the ground not knowing what to do, perhaps reminding himself of all the hardwork done prior to this and of course, the resilience of Jadeja at the other end. Bashir, though, took off instantly and his mates were just trying to catch hold of him. Woakes standing in at cover stopped Bashir in his tracks to give him a warm hug. Carse and Archer then walk up to Bashir to congratulate him. And on the other end, Brook is the first of the English players to walk up to Siraj and console him. Crawley and Root aren't too far behind either. Root holds Siraj very close to his chest and pats him on the back. He (Siraj) then sinks really low and punches the face of the bat (with his gloves) in disgust. Ouch! Almost all of the England players walk up to Jadeja to applaud his knock. Stokes gave Jadeja a very warm hug before tapping him on the helmet. After all the onfield battles, this is such a heart-warming sign and one that elevates the spirit of cricket by many levels.

16:55 Local Time, 15:55 GMT, 21:25 IST: England clinch a thriller at Lord's on the final day and it's their offspinner, who spent most of his time on the bench after being hit on his little finger, who lands the final blow. Siraj appears heartbroken and it's nice to see a couple of England players walk up to him and lift him up. They've given it their all in the heat of the battle, players from both sides, and they've put on a contest worth remembering. In the end of it all, India fall short by a mere 22 runs.

Bashir to Siraj, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

Slip, silly point, short leg and a leg slip in place

Ankit: Those free extras have now started to matter a lot

Indian fans in full voice at Lord's

This is understandably taking a while. Siraj seems to be in much better shape now after being treated by the physio